Why can't I publish to my web host (FTP)?

There are a several reasons why the program (SiteSpinner, Web Engine or WebDwarf) may not work when publishing to your web server:

- First check the basics. If you cannot connect to Internet using any Windows programs (Internet Explorer, Outlook Express etc.) check to make sure the Windows Internet settings have been set up and/or is still set correctly.

To check your Windows Internet settings: go the Control Panel > Internet Options, Connections tab. Then click the Setup button and/or configure the LAN options to match the connection you wish to use. You can also change these setting from the Internet Explorer tools menu.

- If you don't use Internet Explorer or Outlook / Express. Our tools use your Windows Internet connection to FTP to the Internet. If you don't use Internet Explorer or Outlook /Express, you should still have one of those programs on your system. Try running them and see if they will connect. If when you do they say you 'are not online', try selecting the option to 'work online' and then see if you can Publish your Project.

- If you are experiencing an unreliable connection that seems to work partially you may be using a connection that requires 'Passive Mode' ftp. To correct this select the 'Use Passive Mode' check-box on the FTP tab of the Publisher window.

-The most common reason for failure is that you have a 'firewall' turned on that is blocking the transfer. In that case, you must set the firewall to allow the program access to the Internet.

If the firewall is what is causing the problem you may see "Preparing to Connect ..." and then nothing further. Sometimes it will also say "Could Not Connect" and you may see 'The server name or address could not be resolved.' Depending on the firewall, the program may just wait (hang) until the connection is made or it times out.

If you are using Windows XP, please keep in mind that you may have the XP firewall running by default. Also, be sure you are not using a 3rd party firewall and the XP firewall at the same time. That can cause problems.

If you cannot configure your firewall, try turning it off completely and then publishing (turn it back on when you are done).

- If either your FTP host name, user name or password are incorrect, you will not be able to publish.

If you see a 'Last Error' of 'The server name or address could not be resolved' the host name may be incorrect. Make sure you are using the FTP host name which may not be the same as your web address. Check the spelling.

If you see a 'Last Error' of 'The password was not allowed' it could be an incorrect user name or password (since they work as a pair). Check that the spellings are correct and any capital letters are in the right place.

- Another possible problem is an incorrect 'Remote Publish Directory'. The 'Remote Publish Directory' is the folder on your FTP host where you want your files to be sent. If you do not know the correct folder try leaving it blank. The program will then recommend a default setting when you publish. If that does not work, ask your web hosting service for the correct location.

- If none of the above helps, try publishing to a local directory using the 'Copy to Disk' publishing option. If you can do that without problems, a workaround may be to publish locally then using an 3rd party ftp program (Ftp Explorer, for example, is free - see the instructions to set up this up here) upload the pre-built files from your local directory to your web server.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Derry,